Blaze
by aft06
Summary: Set in the near future. Clark returns home to find some things changed and some things the same. When he encounters a Ghostly spectre bent on revenge he must do what he can to save those he loves. clois
1. Prelude

TITLE: Blaze

Author: Aft84 I'm reposting this here for those who didn't see it on K-site.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the pants I'm wearing

Rating: PG13ish...  
Pairing: Clois duh  
Crossover with Ghostrider.

**PRELUDE**

The acrid smell of smoke and death surrounded him. Noble Kale stood in the center of his town as he watched it burn. From all around him he heard the sounds of screaming, gunshots and then nothing. Within minutes he heard nothing but the sounds of the flames roaring. He was filled with so much anguish that he had no more room in him. Noble came to the new world to escape his demons but it seemed they had followed him. He was not a good man but the people he had settled among were. Noble's past life as a mercenary for hire in England had given him the tools to survive so when William Luthor approached him about accompanying him to the New World to help settle and protect his fledgling colony Kale had jumped at it. He had no idea that the very man who hired him to protect the settlement would be the one who would put it to the flame. Kale knew all too well that he had only moments to live. He did not wish to anymore. She was dead, his love, killed as their home collapsed from the blaze that consumed it. Kale arrived on horseback earlier that night to find his entire home in flames and a group of militia murdering all those who tried to escape. He shot two of them dead and fled to the center of town being pursued by several more. It would not be long now. Kale was never a good man. He got down on his knees and began to speak.

"I've never believed in God or the Devil. I swear what's left of my soul to any who will give me the chance at revenge."

"Talking to yourself Kale? At at time like this. I always knew you weren't good enough for her." From out of a cloud a smoke a pale man rode up on a black horse, wearing a black cloak and a wide brimmed hat.

"Do it Luthor but I swear I will have my revenge." Kale snarled. The man on horseback smirked an arrogant smile.

"It if helps you in eternity Noble I gave her one more chance to pick me and she chose to die for you instead." William Luthor drew his pistol and quickly shot Kale in the head. Other men rode out of the smoke. "Its done, put the flames out and gather as many belongings as you can, then leave the things we took from the native camp. We cannot be suspected."

As they rode off into the night an incredibly strong wind blew through the charred remains of the colony knocking debris over and burying the body of Noble Kale in the sand. As dirt consumed his body the wind seemed to groan the word "vengeance."

----

Lex bolted up in bed, covered in a cold sweat. He quickly climbed out and headed to his study where he poured a glass of bourbon and sat down at his desk.

"You had it again didn't you Lex?" Lana came in from the bedroom and gently placed her hand on Lex's shoulder. "Did you see anything new?"

"No just the same dream. The village in flames the man on the black horse shooting the man on his knees." Lex took a swig of his drink. "Lana I keep feeling like I know the man on the horse."

"Lex its probably nothing, people have nightmares all the time."

"Not recurring ones Lana, not this intense. I could smell the bodies burning this time."

"Lex you've been under a lot of stress lately. Put that drink down and come back to bed. You'll be fine in the morning."

"In a minute Lana." Lex said in an uneven voice.

"Lex..." Lana started.

"LANA. I said in a minute." Lex yelled. Lana looked hurt for a second before a strong look clouded her eyes.

"Lex, you haven't been yourself in months. You want me to go fine. One of these times I will and I won't come back." Lana stormed off.

"Lana... come on" Lex shouted at her but he was in no mood to pursue. He knew he would never let her get that far from him anyways. Lex opened his laptop and went to a secret file on it. The file read William Luthor.


	2. Current Events

**CHAPTER 1: Current Events**

Clark's alarmed roared in his ears. He sighed and then smiled as he got up even though it was 7 am it always felt like sleeping in when comparing it to life on the farm. He jumped out of bed and super-sped into the shower. He was ready for work and cooking some pancakes and making his Mom's secret recipe for coffee within five minutes. His life had been hectic for for about two years and it had finally settled down. He couldn't believe that two years ago today was the day he had stopped the last of the escaped Phantom Zone criminals and re-awakened Jor-el in the Fortress. That day Jor-el had sent him on a year and half odyssey across the planet and when Clark finally returned Jor-el imparted to him the knowledge of Krypton and told him his final orders.

----  
**Two years before**

"They can be a great people Kal-el, they wish to be. They only need a light to show them the way. Return home to your friends and family now Kal-el. This is the last we will speak. I love you my son." And with that Jor-el left Clarks life as mysteriously as he had entered it that day in the vegetable cellar of the Kent farm. It seemed that while Clark was away things had been exciting for all of his friends. His mom had been re-elected to the Senate and was one of the most respected Senators in Washington, the farm being paid for by Clark's good friend and former rival Oliver Queen, who Clark knew as the Green Arrow. But that is a story for another time. Lois worked her way into an entry level job at the Daily Planet where she and Chloe quickly teamed up to write an article exposing corrupt Politicians in Metropolis. This article landed them upstairs working under the new editor Perry White and landing themselves front page stories on a regular basis.

----

Upon Clark's return he sought out Perry White who had always promised him a favor someday.

"Well I never thought I'd live to see the day! Clark Kent! What brings you to the Daily Planet!?"

"Hi Mr. White, I'm here..."

"Perry Clark, its always Perry or chief. I like it, makes me feel... Regal. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir Mr... Perry." Perry laughed heartily and slapped Clark on the back.

"Well seriously Clark. What can a former drunk who got a second chance do for the man who saved him?"

Clark blushed a bit and then said nervously. "Well I'm actually hoping to land a job here. Nothing big but I did some writing while I traveled the world." Clark reached into his bag and handed Perry a stack of neatly written articles, all of them stories about Clark's heroic adventures around the world and all of them leaving the part where Clark didn't any saving of any kind whatsoever. Perry sat down at his desk and starting reading. For the next half hour Clark stood awkwardly in front of Perry's desk, unsure if it would be okay to sit down. Finally Perry said.

"Well kid, you've got some real talent but you need more experience." Disappointment flashed across Clark's face. "Thankfully I have just the person for you to partner up with to get you what you need. Welcome to the Daily Planet Kent!"

Clark was ecstatic. "Thanks Mr. White... I mean Perry... I mean Mr. Perry! When can I start!?

"Well how about right now?" Perry looked past Clark into the newsroom. "Ah! Your partner just got back from her latest scoop!" Perry stood up and opened the door. "LANE! MY OFFICE! NOW!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"In a second Chief!" With his super hearing Clark heard muttered swearing from Lane. Suddenly neurons fired in his head and he realized. His eyes went wide as he turned around to see a beautiful brunette storming into Perry's office. "What do you need Chief! I'm a busy woman and I don't need you on my case about knocking over those interns on my way out I had a big scoop ok!" Lois rattled off as fast as she could. When she finally took the time to look around she turned her head and jumped back in a mixture of shock and several emotions. "Smallville! What are you doing here!?"

"Lois we'll talk about that incident with the interns later but for now meet your new partner! Clark Kent!" Clark gave a meek wave and smile at Lois who stared incredulously at Perry before turning her attention back to him.

"You've got to be kidding me." she muttered.

----

"Ok Smallville let me show you to your desk." Lois stormed out of Perry's offfice and towards her desk where she grabbed a trash can and swiped a stack of papers off of one side and into the trash. "There you go. Until Perry gets another desk up here we'll be sitting nice and cozy."

Clark started to say "Lois I..." but Lois kept going.

"Over there is the print room, that is Chloe's desk." She pointed. "Over there is the supply closet, thats where you should probably go and collect the stuff you'll need to write." Lois sat down at her desk angrily.

Clark tried again. "Hey, Lois I..."

"Don't talk to me Smallville. I'm busy doing... reporter things." Lois snapped. Clark could see she had just started a game of sudoku on her computer. Patiently Clark circle her desk and sat across from her where he would be setting up his things. He sat quietly and could tell she was getting annoyed. "You know what I don't get!" she snapped suddenly. "How someone can just disappear into thin air without a word for a little over a year and a half with no goodbyes and no contact to anybody... who might have cared about him. And then just show up like nothing is wrong. AND EXPECT ME TO hold his hand and let him be my partner! You know Clark I'm a respected journalist around here..." Clark heard people around scoff under their breaths as they heard her comment, "I won a Pulitzer last year. I don't need this! Okay I just don't need this!" Her face was red and she was out of breath. Clark knew she had every right to be angry. When he left things between him and her were getting weird. He missed her every moment that he was gone.

"I'm sorry Lois. I should have called you and Chloe to let you know what happened."

"And your mother" she snapped.

"And my mother. I'm sorry Lois. Let me take you out for lunch today and make up for it."

"Ha! Like I'm going to be that easy Kent!"

"Lee Changs Chinese on fifth?" Clark pleaded. He knew it was her favorite. They had gone there with Chloe who was going on a blind date and decided to make them go along and act like a couple to make her more comfortable. Strangely it hadn't felt to Clark like he was acting. He could see her defenses melt a little bit.

"Ok... but you're paying. And I can have anything I want. And you're going to answer all my questions about where you were and what you were doing." Lois' natural color had returned to her face and her voice was back at a normal level.

"Deal Lois." Clark said with a smile as he stood to go get supplies and computer for his part of their desk. As he started to walk away Lois said.

"Hey Clark." Clark turned and looked at her. "Don't leave again. I... we missed you." she said quickly.

"I won't Lois." Clark said sincerely and walked away with a smile.


	3. Fire from the Sky

**CHAPTER 2: Fire from the sky**

"You were there when that volcano suddenly stopped erupting in the Philippines?" Lois said incredulously.

"Yeah I was. I've seen quite a bit of crazy things in the past two years." Clark beamed at Lois. He was enjoying this lunch quite a bit. "The craziest one was seeing Lois Lane as the star reporter of the Daily Planet." to this Lois gave him a dirty look. Clark suddenly heard a loud shout of excitement from behind him and he caught a blur of blonde hair out of his peripheral vision before being enveloped in a bear hug.

"Clark! You're back! You're safe!" Chloe excitedly said.

"Chloe hey. I was going to call you as soon as I could. Theres a lot of things I need to explain."

"I'll say." Lois snapped. Clark could tell she was going to need a little bit more work to get over her anger at him. Chloe sat down at their table.

"So Clark Kent, international man of mystery. I read your article on that avalanche in the Alps that stopped short of that village." Chloe smiled at Clark. She knew she'd get the full story about all of his adventures later when Lois wasn't around.

"Geez Clark did you somehow develop an ability to attract natural disasters?" Lois teased. Then she got a little more serious. "Why did you just pick up one day and decide to see the world?"

Chloe was surprised by Clark's answer. It was mostly the truth and she was even more surprised that Lois didn't follow it up with a game of 20 questions.

"I received a message from my birth father. I had to travel to world to learn about my family history and he didn't want me to have any contact with anybody from my life or he would stop talking to me. I met him once. He died. When I'm ready I'll tell you about it. I promise." Lois smiled at Clark and dug into her plate of $25 gourmet chinese food.

----

The loud buzzing of Clark's apartment doorbell shook Clark out of fond memories of that first lunch with Chloe and Lois. The planet had kept him busy since that day and he found quickly that Lois had changed for the better in a lot of ways. She was still bossy, rude and stuck up but she was also kind, gentle and more beautiful than he remembered.

"Smallville, open the damn door!" Clark smiled at the noise. Lois could be crabby in the morning. He poured a cup of Martha Kent's finest and opened up.

"For you Ms. Lane." He smiled as he handed her the coffee.

"You sure do know the way to my heart Smallville." Lois replied as her mood brightened up as soon as she had a sip of the best coffee in the world. "Now lets go. We have to be to the stadium by 8:30 to help Jimmy get shots of them setting up and then we have to meet with the one and only Johnny Blaze at 9."

"Aye Aye Sailor." Clark said to remind Lois of a moment they had shared in the past. This brought a flash of a smile across her face.

"You first Kent." She said as she watched Clark walk out ahead of her. Her head felt light and it had felt that way a lot since Clark had come back into her life. She had spent two years dating a few losers who didn't care about her and the whole while she wondered what had happened to Clark. She missed him more than she would readily admit to anybody. Before he left she felt that something was going to happen between them that wasn't just friendly. She checked out his ass as he walked out of the apartment. She had to admit he had filled out nicely since he'd been gone as well. 'Okay Lois, you can bring those feelings out of the lock box some other time, right now we need to get the scoop.'

----

Leaves scattered everywhere in the secluded mountain retreat in Georgia as a black helicopter set down. Lex Luthor sauntered out and towards the makeshift cabin they had constructed over a cavernous opening in the earth, dug deep into the roots of the Appalachian mountains. For the past several months Lex could not shake a dream he kept having of a colonial era town being burned to the ground. The name William Luthor came to him more than once in his dream. Lex did some digging into his family's history to discover that a man named William Luthor had been the weatlhy settler of a colony in New England in colonial times. Legend had it that business went bad for Luthor and that one night the entire colony was attacked by native Americans and burned to the ground. Luthor was the sole survivor and after this event his fortune changed and he began the Luthor family fortune that Lex laid claim to today. The legend also said that William Luthor built a sprawling mountain estate that was violently destroyed one autumn night when he was an old man. His servants found him crushed by a pillar of stone and they had him entombed with all of his worldly possessions in a cavern that laid deep in the mountain underneath his home. Lex had become obsessed with finding his ancestors tomb now at last they'd had located a hidden door at the bottom of this enormous cavern. Lex was sure he had found his ancestor.

"Lead the way." Lex said coldly to the man standing guard at the entrance. Grabbing several flashlights Lex and several of his hired men headed into the cavern. Soon they reached an ornate door etched with the Luthor family crest. "Open it." Lex ordered. Several men ran up and laid some small charges on the door. Everyone backed up and took cover. A flash and loud bang followed as the door crumbled to dust. Lex smirked. The sonic detanators were one of the first new toys he had sold to the Military. They had begun what he felt was a wonderfully profitable partnership. As the dust cleared Lex entered the tomb. He was surrounded by artifacts of his family history, this would be a day he would remember. "Pack up everything." He said to the men as he walked to the center and examined the mummified corspe of William Luthor. At his feet lay a worn and ancient journal. Lex picked it up and flipped it open to the last entry.

_Oct 23rd_

I know now what has been following me since that day at the colony and I say soon it will discover my home here and try to rob me of my legacy. I will not let KALE win. The Luthor family will live on into the future and they will enjoy the legacy that I have started. I have sent my only son away with strict orders not to ever return here or to record where this place is. The explosives have been placed and I will certainly not last the night. Kale would see me suffer, see me watch my son die as he had to watch her die but I will have the last laugh. I will burn this house and perish within it, robbing that fiend of the revenge he has sought for so long. William Luthor will prevail in the end. farewell Alexander. Do not let the Luthor family name go to waste. 

Lex shut the book. His family history was proving to be very interesting. Lex scanned the walls of the tomb with his flashlight. He stopped when it shined on a painting of a William Luthor sitting with a beautiful woman. In the background stood a rough but handsome man. The bottom of the painting said "William and Miriam Luthor and their faithful servant Noble Kale." "Noble Kale..." Lex whispered. Suddenly all of the lights in the flashlights went out and a gust of wind began to fill the chamber. The men around Lex began to exclaim panicked words. Lex took a step back and kept his back to the wall. He began to hear a ragged voice speaking.

"Luthor... Luthor... Luthor... I last I have found you. I swore to you so many years ago I would have revenge and I swear that I will. My ancestor still lives as does yours. One shall pay for the blood price that your fortune cost." The men around Lex began to scream. The body of William Luthor caught fire and by the light of this horrific flames Lex saw the faces of the other men in the tomb catch fire as well. One by one they dropped to the ground in agony. As their screams went quiet the wind calmed and the flames died out. Lex heard faintly in his ear. "The rider will find you Lex." Suddenly the flashlight in his hand turned back on and everything was as it was before the supernatural events. Lex turned in shock to see the painting of William Luthor had changed. In the background the head of Noble Kale was now a flaming skull. Lex grabbed the journal of William Luthor and sprinted out of the tomb. He jumped on the helicopter and screamed at the pilot.

"GO! Now! Go!" The pilot took off in a hurry as Lex saw the cavern entrance cave in on itself beneath him. 'What the hell just happened.' Lex thought as he pulled out his phone he was going to need extra security at the mansion.

---

The Metropolis stadium was packed with people setting up for the event later in the evening. World renowned daredevil Johnny Blaze would be attempting to jump his motorbike the entire 100 yards of the football field. "Lois! Clark! Over here!" Jimmy Olson ran up to the two reporters as they walked onto the field.  
"Hey Jimmy" said Clark. Clark had met Jimmy a few years earlier, right after he had faced General Zod for the first time. They grew to be good friends and Jimmy was the only person who really hadn't asked Clark where he disappeared to over the last 2 years.

"Well Jimmy what do you know?" Lois asked.

"Mr. Blaze is arriving by helicopter for the press conference in 10 minutes. I've already got some pre-liminary shots and I'm meeting with his manager in a bit so that we can get some personal shots of him."

"Good work Jimmy, Lets go get some good seats for the conference Smallville." Clark waved bye to Jimmy and followed after Lois to where the press conference was being held. Clark recognized several reporters from competing newspapers who shot dirty looks at Lois who had developed a reputation for getting the big story before anybody else. Suddenly a strong wind began to swirl within the stadium and the sky began to grow dark.

"Hey Lois is it supposed to rain today?" Clark asked.

"No 80 degrees and sunny all day." Lois said as she eyed the darkening sky suspiciously. Clark started to feel very on edge. He could feel a strong energy coming from the dark clouds, an energy that he hadn't felt since Lana was possessed by the witch Isobel.

"I have a bad feeling Lois." Clark said as he drew closer to her. If something was going to happen he would make sure Lois stayed safe.

"Geez Smallville its probably just a storm. Since when could anybody actually predict the weather anyways?" Lois jabbed at Clark, though she secretly liked how protective Clark always was of her. Even though in her opinion she didn't need anybody to take care of her. From out of the distance Clark heard the beating of some helicopter rotors. A man climbed up onto stage.

"Hello folks and welcome. Welcome to Metropolis stadium! In just a few short hours home to the longest motorcycle jump in history." The man eyed the clouds and saw that Johnny Blaze's helicopter was now heading over the stadium at a fast rate of speed. "I hope you all brought umbrellas! I heard it was supposed to be partly cloudy with a chance of falling Blaze's!" Everybody looked up at the helicopter that swooped low over them before pulling up and banking. They saw Johnny Blaze standing in the doorway, it looked like he wasn't planning on landing but on jumping out of the helicopter. As the helicopter began to approach them again Clark saw clouds take on an orange glow.

"Lois look at the clouds. I think they're on fire!" Lois looked up and saw that the black clouds were now burning. The other reporters around them began to murmur nervously. Was this part of the show? The helicopter was moving dangerously fast and flying low when suddenly from out of the clouds a bolt of fire blasted it, instantly consuming it in flames and sending it on a crash course right for the assembled reporters. Clark only had moments to react as it crashed just short of the reporters and began to slide right at them, pieces of the rotors being flung right at the reporters. As Clark took action time seemed to stand still, using his heat vision Clark blasted all of the pieces of the rotors away, then he sped towards the careening wreck of the helicopter and stopped it with his hand. Clark winced in pain as he touched the flaming wreck and brought it to a stop. Then before anybody could register what he had done he sped back to Lois' side and covered her with his body just in time as a piece of the wreck that was about to impale Lois bounced off of his back. From all around him Clark heard people shouting and screaming. He stood there with his arms wrapped around Lois looking around to make sure everyone was alright.

"Smalville! hey Smallville! Clark!" Clark looked at Lois who was shouting at him. "I'm ok you can let me go now." Clark immediately let go, embarrassed that he was still holding her. He could still smell her sweet scent on him. "Clark are you okay. Your hand is burnt. Let me see that." Lois grabbed Clark's hand with great concern. Clark looked at it too. "Clark how did you burn your hand?"

"It must have been heat from the explosion." It was the best excuse Clark could come up with. "Lois look, the clouds are gone." Lois and Clark looked up to see that the sky was shining brightly like it was when they had arrived and the wreck of the helicopter had no sign of ever being on fire.

"Somebody help!!" A man nearby shouted. Clark and Lois ran over to help right away.

"Whats wrong Sir?" Clark asked.

"Its Johnny Blaze! He must have fallen out of the helicopter when it got hit." In front of them laying in an awkward position on the ground was Johnny Blaze. Even without using his abilities to check, Clark knew he was dead.

"Clark! Lois! Thank god you're okay!" Jimmy came running up. "You will not believe the pictures I got of this! Whoah is he okay?" he asked as he saw Johnny Blaze.

"No Jimmy he's dead." said Clark.

"Oh bummer." said Jimmy.

"You said it Jimmy." said Lois. "Clark we should probably get some quotes from witnesses and try to piece together what happened. Jimmy did you get photos of everything."

"Yeah all of it. It was so weird. That helicopter was careening right at everybody and then all of the sudden it just stopped." Jimmy pulled out his camera and pulled up an image on it. "Check this out, this is right when it stopped." In front of the helicopter a blurry red and blue image was frozen. "Hey C.K. are you okay? It looks like something hit you in the back." Clark realized that the debris that he shielded Lois from must have ripped open his jacket.

"Yeah I'm fine. I don't know what happened."

"Well whatever happened to Smallville here I'm glad he's not skewered on the football field. Jimmy lets go over your photos. Clark start getting some information about what people saw." Jimmy walked off and Lois started to follow. Then she stopped and turned to Clark. "Whatever just happened Clark I'm glad you're okay. Get that hand looked at."

"I will Lois. Hey be careful, that wreckage doesn't look too stable." Lois smiled at him and walked off.

Clark looked down at his hand and frowned. The sun was already doing its work and healing it up but Clark knew he'd better go get some bandages for it or Lois would ask some uncomfortable questions. Clark looked up at the cloudless sky and then at path of destruction on the football field. An ambulance was loading the black bag with Johnny Blaze inside of it into the back end. Clark looked at his hand one more time. The fire had gone just a quickly as it came. Clark wanted to know where it came from and why it could burn him. He had a feeling that whatever caused it was just beginning.

----

The cold lights of the Metropolis morgue shone down on the two men working in the preparation room.

"What do we got here Tom?"

"Dardevil Johnny Blaze. There was a freak accident at the stadium. Poor bastard got lit on fire and then fell from a helicopter."

"Daredevil. Huh? The dead will rise before you'll see me jump from a helicopter." The lights around the morgue went out.

"What the hell?" The two men backed away from the table. The dead body laying there sat up and the face began to glow. The men watched in horror as the skin burnt off of his face revealing a flaming skull.

"Mr. Blaze?" was the only thing one of the men managed to get out.

"No... My name is Noble Kale!" The skull said as the body jumped off of the table and disappeared into a fissure in the ground that closed as quickly as it opened. The two men looked at each other.

"I think we need to go grab a beer."


	4. Family History

**_Hey all, thanks for reading so far. I've got a few more chapters to post but I don't wanna do it too fast ;) Feel free to R and R please I LIVE FOR THE REVIEWS!!!_  
**

**CHAPTER 3: Family History**

"I'm telling you Chloe the sky was on fire."

"Okay Lo I'll take your word for it." Chloe and Lois weren't the only ones discussing the crazy events at Metropolis stadium. The entire Daily Planet newsroom had been a bustle of activity since seeing Jimmy's pictures and reading the article that Lois and Clark had written.

"And that wasn't even the weirdest thing that happened. That helicopter should have rolled over all of us but somehow it came to a dead stop. Isn't there a law of Physics that says things can't just do that?"

"What can I say Lo, someone must have been watching out for you guys."

"Thats true. The only person besides Johnny Blaze that got hurt was Clark. It was weird. One of his hands was burnt and his jacket looked like he had been hit full bore by a piece of shrapnel."

"Come on Lois. Clark would be in the hospital if that happened right? I mean he is only a regular man right?" Chloe covered for Clark, knowing full well that everybody there would be dead if Clark Kent hadn't been around. The fact that he got hurt bothered her though. She made a mental note to check into her sources on all things weird to see if anything like this had happened before.

"Well he is a man, but I don't think there is anything regular about Clark Kent." Lois said in a far off voice. Chloe smirked at her.

"So Lois, how IS it working with the Clark Kent. Lot of late nights pouring over articles?" Chloe teased.

"Chloe!" Lois shouted. "Clark and I are just friends. I mean yeah before he left I think I was starting to feel something for him but I means its Clark. Prince of Plaid. I mean sure he always holds the door for me and yesterday he covered me with his body so I wouldn't get hurt and he makes me his mom's coffee every morning but I mean its just Clark right?"

"OH-kay Lois." Chloe just smiled at Lois. She decided not to tell her the office had a pool on when Lois and Clark would get together. Ever since they first met Chloe saw the sparks between Lois and Clark. She knew that two years ago they were one awkward situation away from being a couple and that Lois took Clark's departure harder than anyone would have expected. This was the one guy who had saved their lives countless times. Since Clark had come back Lois had been happier than she had been for two years and she noticed that Clark was totally at ease around Lois. He didn't act like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders when she was with him. Behind Lois Chloe saw the elevator doors open and Clark stepped off. She saw he had a bandage on his hand, no doubt to hide the fact that he wasn't burned anymore. Chloe watched Lois' face as she said. "Hey Clark!" Lois showed a glimmer of reaction before quickly turning and running up to Clark.

"Smallville hey!" Then looking at his hand she quickly grabbed it. "Hows the burn? Are you going to be okay." Lois noticed a bunch of the people in the office watching them so she quickly said. "Ya know I just need my partner to be able to type is all."

"Hey Lois. I'm okay I think its almost all better." Lois looked at Clark weird.

"Clark that was at least a second degree burn yesterday. You are so weird sometimes." Perry exploded out of his office.

"Lane! Kent! My office now!"

"What did you do now Lois?" Clark teased.

"Oh nothing Clarkie. Perry probably just wants to compliment on MY impressive article about the accident." Lois said with a smile as she walked to Perry's office.

"Our article! Our!" Clark said exasperatedly as he followed. Chloe smiled at their interaction and then sat down at her desk. Her phone rang and she picked up it.

"Daily Planet, Chloe Sullivan. Uh uh. Metropolis Morgue?" she looked at her watch. "Yeah I can be there in fifteen minutes." Chloe hung the phone up. "Jimmy you want to cover something weird with me!?" Jimmy Olson practically fell over himself.

"Yeah Chloe sure!" Their first and second attempts at a relationship hadn't worked out. The first time because of him and the second time because of her. Jimmy jumped at any chance he could get to spend time with Chloe one on one.

----

Perry's office was a cluttered mess as usual. Today he was in a very hyper mood, talking fast and loud.

"Yesterday Johnny Blaze died. Right?"

"Yeah Chief we both saw it ourselves." Lois said.

"Of course you did, its reported in my paper that he died. So I want you to explain to me how it is that he walked into 2400 Club last night?" Perry threw a photo down in front of Lois and Clark. The picture showed the handsome face of Johnny Blaze, in his trademark black leather jacket and jeans, getting off his motorcycle with an attractive blonde on his arm.

"Chief are you sure thats him." Clark said.

"Yes I'm sure. Next time you report that somebody famous is dead make damn sure he's dead!"

"Chief I swear he was..." Perry cut Clark off.

"Lane! I thought you were supposed to be showing Kent what it means to be a good reporter!"

Lois started to say something but Clark cut her off.

"Chief this one was all my fault. Lois was talking to other survivors when I went to check on Blaze. The paramedic told me he was dead. I guess he lied. I'll be more careful about my sources next time." Lois gave Clark an affectionate look that neither Clark nor Perry caught.

"You damn well better Kent. This paper has a reputation to uphold. I'm giving you both the chance to make this one up to me. Lex Luthor is throwing his annual birthday bash tonight at Luthorcorp Plaza. The who's who of Metropolis will be there and I managed to get you both on the guest list. I'm sure Blaze will be there and you'd better apologize to the man and then get an interview with him! Kent do you have a tux?"

"Uhh no Chief."

"Get one. NOW! Your limo picks you up at 7 at Lois' apartment. Be there. Don't screw this one up you two. Now get back to work! Don't let me down! You're my star reporters! There's the door!"

Lois and Clark stepped out of the office. "So Lois, what are you doing tonight. Want to go to a swanky birthday bash for someone who hates my guts?" Clark smiled at her. Lois returned the smile.

"Well I'll have to check my schedule," she pretended to pull a planner out of the air. "Hmmm... yep well I had plans to sit around eating cold chinese and watching old reruns but I guess I could pencil you in for 7 o'clock. Go get a tux Smallville. I'll see ya tonight." Lois walked away towards her desk. Clark watched her walk away and thought to himself. 'I wonder if thats what Lois really planned on doing tonight. Maybe I should ask her out for real. But what if it just made things weird. Maybe I'll just hold off.' Clark climbed on the elevator. As the doors shut Lois gave him a small wave and a wink. Clark thought. 'Or maybe not.'

----

Lex burst into the library of his mansion where Lana was getting fit for her dress for the evening's party. "Out." he said in a cold voice to the seamstress.

"Well hello honey! Happy Birthday!" Lana spat sarcastically at Lex. "Thank you for telling me that you were leaving for... where was it again? Oh thats right I don't know where you went the past three days."

"Lana not right now!" Lex shouted. Lex had almost had enough. The beginning of their relationship was less than perfect and it had only gone downhill from there. Lex fell in love with Lana because she was the one person in his life he could trust. And if he could steal her away from the only person on the planet that had succeeded in making him jealous, the better it was. Though in Lex's mind he didn't lie to Lana as much as Clark supposedly did she treated him like he did. Every project, every trip had to be explained in the utmost detail or he got the cold shoulder for a week. Being one of the most wealthy women in the world for almost three years had changed Lana. Lex had witnessed her be just as cruel and vindictive as he could be. It was secretly one of the things he loved about her.

"Lex. Tell me where you were. NOW!" Lana said matter of factually. Lex sighed. It was no use and he needed her to be happy for appearances sake for his party tonight. All of the major players in industry, politics and entertainment in Metropolis would be there. He couldn't stand to lose face should his girlfriend decide to flip out at the party.

"Alright Lana. You really want to know. Are you ABSOLUTELY sure you want to know? I mean this revelation about me could change the way you feel about me! Its something that I know I intentionally kept you in the dark about for fear of losing you."

"Drop the sarcasm and tell me."

"Lana all I've been up to the past few weeks is researching into the Luthor family's past. I traced my ancestry back to a man named William Luthor who came here from England in the Colonial period of America. He was a wealthy founder of a colony in New England that was burned to the ground by Native Americans, they managed to kill everybody who lived there except William himself and his son Alexander. He went on to found Luthor and Son in Boston and he is the first of a long line of Luthor's who made it rich."

"Lex. I don't understand. Why wouldn't you want to tell me this stuff?"

"Lana. I love you. I was doing it to protect you."

"Protect me from what exactly Lex? Boredom at hearing your family's drawn out history?"

"No Lana, William Luthor orchestrated his own death to escape revenge from a man named Noble Kale who was supposedly following him since the attack on the first colony. I found William's tomb where all the men that went in with me were attacked and killed by something. That something claimed to be Noble Kale and it said it would have its revenge on the Luthor family." Lana's face had gone white. "Lana whats the matter?"

"Lex, while you were gone I received a package in the mail. It was the journal of a man named Noble Kale who was hired as a mercenary by a man named William to help settle and protect a colony in New England."

"Lana who sent it to you?"

"It only had a note that said 'The rider looks forward to dance with you.'"

"Lana go get me that journal right now." Lex demanded.

----

Chloe smelled the sickly smell of preservatives and chemicals in the autopsy room of the Metropolis morgue. Behind her a flash lit the dim room as Jimmy took a picture of the charred table where Johnny Blaze was lain the night before. "Thank you for coming down here on such short notice Ms. Sullivan. I saw in the paper today that Johnny Blaze went to a club last night. But last night I swear he was laying right there dead." The man said with a shaky voice as he pointed at the table.

"Thank you for the tip. Why is the table blackened. It looks like it was on fire." Chloe observed.

"It wasn't. Johnny was." The man said ominously. Chloe shot Jimmy a look who just shrugged at her. He'd seen weirder things in his day.

"Tell me from the beginning. What happened?" Chloe said as she got out a tape recorder.

"Well..." the man started. "Johnny was brought in with multiple severe fractures and burns. He had been dead for at least four or five hours when we finally got to work on him. Then last night as we were about to start on him the lights in here went out and then his head started on fire. Before I knew what was happening he jumped off the table, all he had for a head was a flaming skull. My partner managed to say 'Mr. Blaze?' and this thing said to us 'No, My name is Noble Kale!' Then a crack in the floor opened up, the thing jumped in, the crack closed and then we went to the bar to have a drink because you don't see that sort of thing every day."

"The bar huh? How many pitchers did you have?" Jimmy asked.

"Jimmy!" Chloe scolded.

"Listen I know how this sounds but its the truth." Chloe shut her recorder off and put it away.

"Well thank you for meeting with us and calling us. I promise I'll look into this further. And I'll give the Inquisitor your name. This is really the kind of story they cover. Lets go Jimmy." As Chloe and Jimmy walked out of the building Jimmy said

"Noble Kale huh? Cool name."

"Yeah..." said Chloe thoughtfully.

----  
Lex held the journal in trembling hands. The last few entries provided some clarity to who Noble Kale was.

_Oct 11th_

_Meeting M. again tonight. William is away on business in Boston. I do not think he suspects anything but sometimes I wish he did. He does not love her and a duel would solve everyone in this colony's problems. I could end his miserable existence and lead this place to prosperity. I know he has been stealing the food and medicine shipments from London and selling them in Boston. I take pleasure in knowing his wife loves me._

_Oct 12th_

_Wonderful news. William and his son must travel back to England for the better part of a year to deal with some pressing business. He has left me in charge of the settlement. M. told me last night she had something important to tell me._

_Oct 13th_

_M. is carrying my child. I did not think it possible but I am thankful for our good luck. The child will have come to term before William returns. I will escort M. to a native village nearby where she can carry the child away from the eyes of the town. They will think she has gone back to London with her husband._

_Dec 2nd_

_William has stopped sending shipments. Does he mean for us to starve to death? I have become friends with the local natives. They are helping us surive the winter._

_June 5th_

_We have made it to the summer. William returns in a fortnight. M. is in labor. The timing could not be better._

_June 6th._

_M. has had my child, a son. We have named him Bartholomew Kale. His existence must not be known to anyone. He will stay with my friends at the Native village._

_July 8th._

_William suspects something. I have arranged for Bartholomew to live with some distant family in Charleston. He will be safe there._

_July 15th. (The script was no longer written in ink but instead looked as though it had been burned into the parchement.)_

_Dead. Everyone. Vengeance shall be mine. My family shall be cursed and I shall rest._

Lex thought back to the painting. M. must have been Miriam Luthor. That meant that somewhere alive today Lex had a half brother hundreds of times removed. The heir that Kale had spoke of. Lex got out his cell phone. "Markus. I want you to look into something for me."


	5. The Birthday Party

**Chapter 4: The Birthday Party**

Clark fidgeted in his tux as he walked to Lois's apartment door. He was extremely nervous. 'Why are you nervous, you've come here a hundred times.' but Clark felt that this time was different, it was Lois and him going somewhere nice, all dressed up. Like it was a real date. Inside the apartment Lois was pacing around. 'Its okay Lane. Its just an assignment, no big deal. Just an assignment with Clark.' She thought as she checked herself out in the mirror for the thousandth time in an hour. 'Nice work Lane.' she thought. She heard a thumping on the door and smiled. 'My date is here... I mean my co-worker is here!' She walked to the door and opened it up.

"Hey Smallville." she said casually, secretly admiring how handsome he looked in his new tux. Clark felt like the wind had been knocked out of him.

"He... Hey! Lois. You look... uh... umm..." Clark blushed and struggled. "I mean you look..." Lois looked concerned.

"Spit it out already Smallville. I look revolting, disgusting, hideous..." Clark cut off her rant.

"While I was away I ended up in Kenya, doing a report on the people who live on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. I took the opportunity to climb to the top. I got to see the sun rise from the top of Kilimanjaro. All of Africa spread out in front of me like an endless sea. The point is that up until this moment right now that was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen." Clark finished as he gazed into her eyes.

"Oh..." was all Lois could get out as they started to lean closer to each other, their faces getting dangerously close. Suddenly Lois's cellphone rang. "NO!" Lois shouted. Avoiding eye contact with Clark she blushed and said. "C'mon Kent, your chariot awaits."

Clark leaned his head against her apartment door and sighed "Right..." as she walked down the hall before he followed suit. As he stepped onto the elevator he took the time to admire her beauty once more. They did not speak a word on the way down about what just about had happened. Clark made up his mind. 'I'm not going to let this night go to waste.'

They walked out of the apartment building and Clark opened the limo door for Lois before climbing in after her. "Why thank you Clarkie." He heard Lois tease as she climbed inside. The limo pulled away and headed towards Lex Luthor's birthday party. The two occupants inside could not have predicted the events that would unfold over the next few hours.

----

Chloe tapped away at her computer at the Daily Planet. The subject she was reading up on: Spirits of Vengeance. "Whoah." she said. Though she knew that the sources on what she was reading was sketchy at best it was the only lead on flaming skeletons that walk around she could find. According to her research throughout the centuries there had been recorded cases of men with flaming skulls for heads claiming to be the Spirit of Vengeance, a herald for a demon named Mephisto. Often they would claim to be a person who had died in a tragedy or a person who had lost someone very close to them. Furthermore there had been only two sightings of them in the United States, one during the Civil War when some confederate soldiers disturbed a run down cabin in the mountains. That one had claimed to be someone named Noble Kale. Another sighting had occured five years earlier in New Jersery two days after a terrible stunt accident had claimed the life of Barton Blaze. The father of Johnny Blaze. Chloe did further research that led her to the connection. Johnny Blaze was the descendant of Noble Kale. And around the center of all this was the mystery of what had happened to these two men to turn them into these Spirits of Vengeance. 'I'd better tell Clark to be careful.' Chloe thought.

----

Lex and Lana stood side by side with phony grins plastered to their faces. "Hi, hello, thank you for coming, enjoy yourself." poured out of their mouths and they greeted guests that entered the 25th story Luthorcorp ballroom. The room was well lit and enormous, great care had been taken to demonstrate power.

"Lex I hate this. Why do you always have to do this for your birthday?" Lana mumbled under her breath.

"Because Lana. I need to cultivate relationships with all of these people if I want to run for senate again one day." Lex smiled sideways at Lana. At the back of the line he saw the man he was looking for. He signaled for a guard. "Mr. Blaze is here. Wait for the signal I gave you." Lex whispered in the guards ear as he shot a glance at Lana. Lex had a plan to lure out Noble Kale and end his quest for revenge against his family once and for all and Lana unfortunately was part of that plan. She'd probably be mad at Lex for being kept in the dark but there was no other choice. Lex didn't care. Lana was usually mad at him about something these days. His nature had corrupted her into a dark and angry woman.

Johnny Blaze stood at the back of the line, dressed in his black leather jacket and jeans looking bored. His head hurt and he couldn't remember several hours of the night before, which had nothing to do with his activities at the club he went to. He knew what had happened and he stood fearful of what he might do. Something wasn't right this time. He could feel it. Whenever the rider came out Johnny remained aware and in control. The fact that he didn't remember what happened meant that something bad was going on.

"Mr. Johnny Blaze. A pleasure to have you here tonight. Please make sure you enjoy yourself." Lex snapped Johnny out of his meditations.

"Thanks Mr. Luthor I'm sure I will."

----

Lois and Clark's limo got stuck in traffic and was late for the beginning of the festivities, which wasn't a big deal for Clark. He didn't want to have to meet Lex at the door, in fact he didn't want to speak to Lex at all.

"Seriously Smallville step on it! We're late. The Chief will kill us if we miss Johnny Blaze!" Lois grabbed Clark by the hand and dragged him along. Clark dragged his feet because he liked holding Lois's hand. "Whoah" Lois muttered as they entered the great hall where the party was being held. It was filled wall to wall dignitaries, businessmen, pro athletes and celebrities. Clark thought he spotted Lana mingling off in the distance. The sight of her brought back some old wounds but not any of the feelings like he would have expected. Clark scanned the room looking for her. Lois knew what he was looking for and rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me Kent? You can't possibly still be all love-sick over that girl can you?" She asked for both his and her sake.

Clark smiled. "No Lois. Its just that I haven't seen her or heard anything about her besides the fact that she's still with Lex for the past two and half years." Lois looked at him suspiciously. "Besides, I think I'm starting to have feelings for someone else."

Lois beamed at the admission. "Really Smallville? Does this mystery woman have a name." Clark looked a little surprised. She smiled as she saw him get a little bit shy and then open his mouth to speak.

"Lois... I've been..."

"Lois Lane! Oh Ms. Lane! I'm so glad you're here. There's just somebody I've been DYING to introduce you to." A well dressed older woman with a snobby accent walked up. Clark sighed at the interruption. Lois knew the woman through a story she did on her collection of ancient cat figurines a few years back. "May I present Mr. Johnny Blaze. He's new to Metropolis and I've taken it upon myself to introduce him to all the people I know."

"Oh well lucky him!" Lois humored the woman and then she extended her hand to the handsome blonde man that approached. "Lois Lane." nodding to Clark, "This is my partner Clark Kent." Clark nodded at the man.

"Lane and Kent huh? The ones who reported me dead?" he said in a mock angry tone. Lois didn't catch the sarcasm.

"Listen we're both really sorry about that. I mean..."

"Hey Lois, listen don't worry. I'm just kidding. Its not the first time somebody said I was dead. It happens at least once a week. Your paper is however the most reputable one to do so." Blaze smiled. Clark cell phone rang. He looked at the ID that flashed Chloe's Cell.

"Hey Lo I've got to take this. I'll be right back. Don't do anything stupid." Clark teased and walked off. Lois gazed at him for a second before getting back to Johnny Blaze.

"So tell me Mr. Blaze. What is it like to defy death for a living?" Blaze smiled at Lois.

"Well it makes you appreciate the finer things in life, like beautiful women like yourself. Listen can I get you a drink?"

"Actually I'm fine thanks. I'm sorta involved with somebody right now. But I will still take that drink as long as a friend is offering."

"No harm, no foul. To the bar Ms. Lane!" Blaze jovially said. He liked how up front she was. Whoever the guy that she was holding out for was, Blaze hoped he knew how lucky he was.

----

Clark stood in a dim corner trying to hear Chloe over the music of the party that was now in full swing. "So you're telling me Johnny Blaze is possessed by some kind of Spirit of Vengeance?"

"Clark I know how it sounds but you and I have seen more than our fair share of weird. Just be on guard. This Noble Kale guy has surfaced more than once and my bet is that whatever he's looking for he hasn't found yet, but he chose now to possess Johnny and I'll bet whatever he wants is near at hand."

"Thanks Chloe."

"Clark, be careful. These spirits aren't your typical meteor freaks. They were given their powers by a demon and we know that magic hurts you."

"I will Chloe. Listen if you're right then I need to get back to Lois. She's interviewing the guy right now. Talk to you later."

----

Lois was busy at the bar drinking a vodka collins and filling out a notepad on the adventures of Johnny Blaze, who as it turned out was a very down to earth nice guy. He was hiding something from her though and she was desperate to get it out.

"So I've read that your career really took off after the death of your father Barton. Is that right?" A dark look passed behind Blaze's eyes.

"I don't really like to talk about that whole sad story. Lets just say I tried to save him and I failed. End of that story okay?" He said forcefully.

"Okay.. Sorry." Lois backed off. From the crowd she saw Clark approach. "Clark over here!" she yelled.

"Hey you guys. I hope she wasn't too invasive." Clark said to Blaze.

"For the most part!" he smiled back.

"Whatever Smallville! I ask the questions that you're too busy 'yes ma and pa' to get! Can you get me another drink Clarkie?" she said as she down her first drink.

"Alright Lois!" Clark said as he turned his back and walked over to the bartender.

"Lois Lane. Well its been a few months since the last time I saw you. Frankly I'm surprised to see you here at all? How did YOU get invited. Especially wearing that dress?" Lana Lang stalked out of the crowd. The changes in Lana were most noticeable by those who at one time were her friends. She turned on them one by one and was pretty nasty to them whenever she saw them. Johnny Blaze eyed the beautiful brunette approach. He felt funny. He felt like he had seen her countless times before and he felt like there was something he had to do involving her. He stuck out his hand.

"Hi, Johnny Blaze. Have we met before?" Lana looked him up and down with an icy glare.

"One word you cockroach. Raid." Johnny was taken aback by the stern rejection. He felt ill, his face felt really hot, he could tell he was sweating profusely. He turned to Lois.

"Geez good luck with her Ms. Lane. It was nice talking to you. I hope we can do it again." Johnny staggered off into the crowd in search of the bathroom.

Lois glared back at Lana. "Lana. Always a pleasure. How is playing the Mrs. to Lex going these days."

"Oh just fine, I've been busy decorating the mansion and buying all sorts of things. Much nicer than that dress. You really should consult someone..."

"Lois here is your drink." Clark said as he handed Lois her drink, which she slammed down as fast as she could.

"Well well well. If it isn't Clark Kent. Where have you been keeping yourself the past two and a half years?" Lana said coldly, she would never tell anyone but she never recovered from the heartbreak of their break-up. She still was wrongfully angry at Clark for all of the bad things that had happened in her life since, when she should have been looking in Lex's direction.

"Lana. Hi. Wow its been ages. How have you been?"

"Better since you left. I've been staying busy trying to keep up with a real man." Clark looked hurt. "Oh don't act like you care Clark. You never have and you never will. Okay well this has been SO nice catching up. Buh-bye." Lana said snottily as she walked off into the crowd. Clark just stared after her with his mouth agape. Lois smiled at him.

"Yeah Chloe and I neglected to tell you about how much she's changed."

"Lois I don't understand. What happened to her?"

"Lex happened. He took her into his inner circle and she's been changing for the worse ever since. You know she was a suspect in a murder last year." Clark looked hurt so Lois didn't say anything more. He couldn't believe his childhood love had fallen so far.

"I guess you can't save everyone huh?" he said outloud. Lois grabbed him hand and gave it a squeeze.

"No but it doesn't hurt to try Smallville." Clark looked at Lois and sensed his moment.

"Lois, listen I was hoping tonight you and I could talk. Before I left I had planned to take you out to dinner. Then my life got in the way and I had to leave. But I was wondering, if we could try to pick up where we left off before I left. Say dinner at my apartment tomorrow night?" Lois beamed. If she smiled any wider her face would have exploded.

----

"Clark! I think thats a..." From the center of the room several people screamed and began to break for the doors. As people began to clear out he could see what they were running from. A flaming hole in the floor had opened up and climbing out of it slowly was a horse made entirely of fire. Atop this horse sat a man in a black leather jacket and jeans with a flaming skull for a head. The room was now empty with the exception of Lex, Lana, Lois, Clark and Lex's men.

"Luthor!!! I come now for that which your family took from me so long ago!" It pointed a bony finger at a spot on the dance floor where Lana Lang stood isolated and with nowhere to run. She screamed as the rider rode her down, right before she was hit by the flaming horse the rider jumped off and landed next to her. "A dance my dear." It moaned. Clark saw Lex mouth something into a radio. Several men charged the rider with guns raised. Before the had a chance to do anything the Rider shot fire from his body at them. All around him the men dropped in agony. A few more men approached. One of them managed to shoot the Rider. From out of nowhere the Rider materialized a flaming chain. "Vengeance comes tonight!" It screamed as it slammed the chain into the men and tossed them aside like a rag doll. Lex approached the rider now.

"Kale. Leave her alone!"

"No Lex. She is mine to dance with this night!" Kale screamed at Lex. In one swift motion the he pointed the chain at Lex and some flaming pieces of it came flying off of the end, straight for Lex's head. Clark only had enough time to realize Lois was running towards Lana before he super sped behind Lex and used his heat vision to knock the projectiles to the ground. "What!" Kale shouted in rage. In another motion he based Lex across the face with the chain knocking him to the floor, unconscious. "You will pay for interfering mortal!"

"I'm not just any mortal!" Clark shouted back.

Lois ran up to Lana who sat frozen right behind the Rider, who had his back turned to her. "Lana lets get out of here come on!" but Lana wouldn't budge. She sat shaking and immobile. Lois watched as Clark distracted the monster by dodging chain strikes with what she saw as almost inhuman speed.

"Enough of this!" Kale shouted. He threw a ball of fire in one direction and then whipped the chain in another. Clark winced in pain as he realized that the chain had gone right through his shoulder as he tried to dodge the fireball.

"Clark! No!" Lois shouted as she saw Clark drop to the ground in pain. The shout brought Kale to his senses. He spun upon the two women. "Ladies. I think you will be my guests of honor tonight!" He whipped the chain at them, wrapping them tightly and then mounted his horse, dragging them alongside in a macabre saddlebag. Clark could only watch as he saw the horse, the rider and the woman he loved jump out of the 25th story window and disappear into the night.


	6. Whats in her heart?

**CHAPTER 5: What's in her heart?**

Clark's shoulder closed up almost instantly. He stood and ran to the gaping hole in the glass, shards still trickling over the edge. In the distance he saw a small pin-prick of flame, heading east. If he went now he'd have a chance to catch Kale and the girls.

"Clark! What happened!" Clark sighed.

"I'm not sure. He took Lois and Lana and then rode off through the window."

"This high up?" Lex said skeptically as he staggered over.

"Weirder things have happened Lex." Clark snapped. He no longer had time to deal with Lex's patronizing attitude. He and Lex had ended their associations long ago. "You should get yourself to a hospital Lex, you took quite a blow to the head." Clark and turned at Lex. He saw that he had a faraway look in his eyes. Lex grabbed Clark's arm and snarled.

"Don't LIE to me Kent. He took LANA. You tell me what you saw!" Clark shoved Lex off. Lex seemed surprised by his strength.

"I saw him heading east Lex. That's all I know. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go after them." Clark started to walk off.

"You're not going to get far alone Clark. I'm coming with you." Clark turned on Lex with anger.

"Once upon a time Lex I would have been all for it. You're not coming now. I've been done with you for a long time Lex."

"Whoh Clark, you disappear for two years. You don't call. You don't write and now you come back and you're all mad at me. Looks like someone didn't change at all."

"Lex. I was THERE in South Africa. Those people's blood is on your hands." Clark walked out of the ballroom towards the elevator. Lex couldn't help one more shot at Clark as he walked off.

"That one wasn't ALL me Clark. It was Lana's idea to fund the militia. She's really quite business savvy!" Lex smirked as he saw Clark pause for a moment and then keep moving. The incident Clark was talking about involving a diamond mine that had diamonds with interesting properties. As a money saving solution Lana suggested Lex arm and fund a militia to illegally mine the diamonds and then transport them across the border. They grew in money and power from the joint venture and eventually used that power to massacre a few local villages. Luthorcorp developed a new optical computer technology that was revolutionizing the field from the diamonds. 'So what if a few thousand people died?' Lex thought.

----

Lois was aware that she was traveling at an incredibly fast speed. Next to her she heard Lana sobbing. Lois squirmed to see if she could break free from the chains but she couldn't, they were too tightly wound. 'I knew I should have stayed in and eaten Chinese tonight.' she thought. Lois thought back to the ballroom. Clark jumping around with inhuman speed. 'Just shock from seeing a flaming horse. I was seeing things.' Lois grimaced as she replayed the sharp end of the flaming chain piercing Clark's shoulder. 'Oh Smallville. Please be safe!' she pleaded in her. 'I have to see him again.' Lois was aware now of trees flying past her. Then suddenly in the distance Lois could see some charred ruins rising out of some overgrown forest. From what she could tell the ruins were so old they were practically part of the forest again. The flaming horse slowed to a trot. She could hear its dark gasping. She didn't even want to question why the flames weren't burning her. The chain unwrapped itself and the women fell to the cold ground.

"We're home Ladies moaned the skeletal rider." He dismounted. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Noble Kale and these ruins you see were my home once upon a time. A happier time for all involved. Except one. He put my village to the flame, tortured and killed my one true love and murdered me in cold blood right over there by that rock." Kale pointed to a rock nearby. Lois and Lana exchanged glances. Lana looked terrified while Lois was too curious to be scared.

"So then Mr. Kale. What does all of this have to do with us?" Kale loomed over Lois.

"Revenge my dear. Revenge. Long ago I sold my soul for it and I have yet to taste its sweetness." Kale walked over to Lana and offered a bony hand, which she took with a whimper, and he helped her up. "This is the one that he loves more than anything. The descendant of the man who wronged me." Kale started twirling Lana in a psychotic ballroom dance.

"Okay Mr. Kale then what am I doing here." Kale threw Lana aside like a rag doll. She went flying into a tree and hit her head hard. She lay on the ground out cold.

"You were with the man who tried to stop me. He is a threat. He can stop me. I took you so that he will learn not to trifle into affairs that have been laid in place for 200 years." Lois started to get nervous.

"How are you planning on teaching him this?" She hesitantly asked.

"Simple my dear. I will look into your heart and if you are found wanting I will kill you as sure as the sun will rise." The ghost cackled with laughter. Lois was now afraid.

"How can you look into my heart." Kale turned on her and she saw two blazing eyes that she did not look at because of the way they made her feel.

"I have ways." Kale caught her glance. "Ms. Lane." He cackled again showing a blazing skeletal grin. Suddenly it sounded as though Kale was choking. The flame on his head dimmed. Lois's eyes went wide as she saw the entire body of Johnny Blaze break away from the body of Noble Kale for a brief second. He looked right at her and shouted something. It echoed and sounded like it was coming from far away.

"Help me Lois! Free me and I can save you both!" Kale screamed as he exerted some effort and sucked Blaze back in.

"I don't have much more time!" Kale pointed at both Lana and Lois and chains sprung forth form the earth, holding them in place. He climbed his horse and took off in the direction of Metropolis. Lois stared after him. She heard Lana's shallow breathing and started shouting. Maybe somebody would be out in the woods and would find them. All she could think about was Clark. She wanted... no she needed to see him one more time. The words of her father echoed in her head. 'A true soldier never gives up in the face adversity. They fight to the bitter end and they make that end as glorious as they possibly can. Most of all a true soldier always carries those they love with time for strength.' She smiled and felt comforted. 'Maybe the General wasn't such a bad dad after all.'

----

Lex stared out the broken window at the twinkling lights of Metropolis. He caught he shattered reflection and smirked. It reflected how he felt. He was busy trying to figure out how he was going to cover up the deaths of five more of his security personnel from burns that didn't show up on their skin. Lex sighed and then looked at the window again. He jumped back as he caught the reflection of a flaming skull behind him. As he spun a chain wrapped around him. The rider loomed over him. "You're coming with me Lex!"

----

Clark stood next to Chloe at the deserted Daily Planet offices. "Chloe what do you know about this Noble Kale?"

"Not much Clark. I'm sorry but the colony he and William Luthor settled was destroyed and never re-located. There's a good chance its somewhere in Massachusetts deep in one of the National Parks. Thats the only way any trace of it wouldn't have been located already." Clark grunted an angry noise and began pacing.

"Chloe I won't be able to check them all fast enough. What if Lois gets hurt!?" He shouted in anger.

"Clark! She's my cousin too but if there's one thing I know its that Lois Lane is tough."

"Chloe I need to save Lois. I'm falling in love with her." Chloe was a little bit caught off guard.

"Love Clark. Wow. Thats awesome. Do you know how she feels?" Clark shook his head. Chloe could tell he felt that this wasn't really the time to be having this particular conversation.

"No Chloe. I don't know what's in her heart but I do know that I will not be able to be the hero I'm supposed to be for this world without someone to inspire me. I need Lois Lane. Even if that means I'll be only her friend forever." Chloe smiled at her friend.

"Well Clark I don't think that'll be a problem. She gave him a gentle shove. Now get outta here speedy. Go find her. Save my cousin. Save the woman you love!" Clark smiled.

"There's something I haven't told you about yet." Clark gave her a wink as her ran to a window, opened it and flew off into the night. Chloe ran up to it.

"Wow!"

----

Lana had woken back up. "Lois what the hell is going on. What is that thing?"

"Its a man named Noble Kale. Apparently he's going to look into our hearts and then kill us." she dead-panned. Lana freaked out. "Oh come on Princess. Calm down and lets try to get out of here." As soon as she had finished her sentence the blazing horse of the rider slammed its hooves dangerously close to her head.

"Not going to happen Ms. Lane!' Kale groaned. Lois saw that he carried a squirming Lex. Kale lifted Lex like a feather and tossed him next to Lana where another chain emerged from the earth and held him in place. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long long time."

"Go to hell!" shouted Lex.

"Already been there Luthor. Its a pretty tropical place." Kale laughed at his own poor joke. "You're going to watch her die Lex. Then you'll suffer for as long as I can make you and then I will finally end your miserable bloodline from this earth."

"Do your worst." Lex spat.

"Okay." Kale said as he dismounted and walked towards Lex. Lois almost couldn't bear to watch. Lex struggled as Kale grasped his head between his hands and forced Lex to stare him in the flaming eyes. All was quiet until Lex began to howl in a mixture of pain and terror. Kale released his grasp as Lex continued to writhe on the ground. "You next!" he said to Lana. Lana began to sob as Kale grabbed her head and stared her in the eyes.

The blazing eyes bored into her soul. Lana began to gasp in agony as she began to see all the suffering she had ever caused other. "Feel you sins Lana. See what you have wrought!" It seemed to Lana Kale was screaming in her ear. Lana began to sob as she saw armed men murdering countless women and children. The militia she had told Lex to fund. Lana screamed and sobbed as more and more visions raced past her eyes. Finally she came to one final image. Clark. Lana saw in an instant every time Clark had ever saved her. She saw Clarks father die and she knew that somehow Clark had chosen her to live instead of him. The last thing she saw as she began to black out was her saying the words to Clark.

"I don't know how I ever could have loved you." As she heard herself say the words she could feel her heart tear in two as Clark's must have that day in Lex's mansion.

Lois watched in horror as Lana writhed in pain for several minutes before collapsing. Whatever Kale was doing to them Lana must have had less to see since she stopped several minutes before Lex finally stopped. Kale approached her. "You next Ms. Hero." Lois tried to fight back as Kale grabbed her head in a firm grasp. She tried to fight it but she couldn't resist looking into the burning eyes. She felt them go right through her. All she could think of was Clark. Lois became aware of herself feeling warm, feeling very comforted. This was obviously not what Kale expected. His grasp began to weaken. Lois began to see all of the nice things Clark had done for her. She could feel the love radiating off of him. She felt covered in a warm blanket. She was vaguely aware of Kale screaming as he released his grasp. As she drifted into a wonderful dream of Clark Lois thought she saw Kale split into two beings again and begin fighting the other one.

----

Kale couldn't understand it. The other two were so corrupt it had made his penance stare easy to torture them with. The third girl was different. Her heart was pure and she was full of a love for a man. The same one who had fought him off earlier. He could feel her love penetrate him, right to his darkened heart, where it began to soak in, bringing back memories of his Miriam. This was the moment Johnny Blaze had waited for, trapped inside a flaming prison deep within Noble Kale.

Blaze felt the ground beneath his feet as he turned upon Noble Kale and lit his head up. He was a rider too and he intended to defend these people, even though two of them were hardly innocent. Blaze heaved a ball of hellfire at Kale who leapt out of the way.

"Johnny please try to understand. I NEED REVENGE! I don't have a choice! I must keep the deal!" Kale screamed at Johnny as he whipped his flaming chain at his head.

"Noble you don't have to! He'll betray you in the end any ways. Just like he did to me! You gave up your soul, don't give up what's left of your humanity too!"

Kale screamed. "When she died I lost my humanity!!! Vengeance is all I have!" In fury Kale threw a fierce right hook into the flaming skull of Johnny Blaze knocking him to the ground. Then he raised his chain over his head and began to lash Blaze over and over again. "How could you be my descendant!!! You failure!" Kale was a man (or a demon) possessed. Blaze wouldn't last much longer under this kind of punishment.

----

Clark soared through the air east towards a desperate search for Lois. Suddenly he felt her. He felt Lois right next to him and what he felt was an overwhelming sense of love. The kind of love a person could live a million lifetimes with. Focusing Clark sped up through the air. He knew right where she was. 'Hold on Lo. I'm coming!'


	7. Heroes

**CHAPTER 6: Heroes**

Clark felt Lois's heart beating as if it was his own. He flew as fast as he could in the direction of her pounding heart. Clark couldn't explain the extraordinary sense of love that he felt coming from her but he filed it away as a conversation they might need to have when he finished this thing. From up high Clark saw the fiery battle between the two Riders taking place in a clearing below him. He spotted Lois, Lana and Lex struggling on the ground, apparently bound with some supernatural chains.

----

Johnny Blaze was fading fast. A few more blows from Kale and he would be down for the count. As he absorbed another blow with the chain Blaze tried to reason with his ancestor once more. "How do you know he isn't playing you like he played me?" Kale paused his relentless beating.

"Because Johnny once I do this I will be his forever! Why would he risk it by turning on me?"

"Think about this! He has a legion of demons under his control! Why would he need you!?"

"Don't try to question the motives of someone like him Johnny!. This ends now. You and no-one else will stop me!" With that Kale wound his chain up and unleashed it with finality across Johnny Blaze. Blaze tried to dodge but was unsuccessful. The full wrath of the fiery links ripped into him and he collapsed onto the ground. Even though he was possessed with demonic powers, he wasn't immortal. Everything started to go dark as he heard Kale laugh and turn to his captives. "Its time I finish this Luthor. Time for you and her to die." Kale turned to Lois. "You're a good person Ms. Lane. But no one should know what happened here. I'm afraid you'll have to die as well. Goodbye." Kale began collecting a ball of fire in his hand and then he flung it directly at Lois.

Lois closed her eyes and waited for the heat of the impact. She hoped it was quick. The only thing she could think of was how much she wished he hadn't wasted time dancing around her feelings for Clark. She felt an enormous gust of wind. Must be from the fireball she thought. She braced herself for impact but it never came. Then she heard him. Clark. 'He came!' she thought. 'He always comes!!'

Clark stood tall on the far side of the clearing. He had landed just in time to use his super breath to put out the fireball that Kale had flung at Lois. "You're not going to hurt anyone Kale. I won't let you." Clark super sped to Lois's side and broke the chains holding her down, then he did the same for Lex and Lana. "Run!" he commanded with whole being. Seeing Lois looking at the broken chains with shock Clark said "They were really rusty now run!!" The three didn't take time to question, they tore off into the woods. Clark now stood alone facing the spectre of Kale in the middle of the dark clearing.

Kale cackled. "You can't save them from me. They were easy enough to find, I will find them again." In an effort to sucker punch Clark, Kale breathed a ball of fire from his mouth. Clark sped out of the way and behind Kale, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Behind you." Kale turned right as Clark's fist was about to pound him in the face. "Jackass." Clark finished as he launched Kale across the clearing. Picking himself up from the muddy ground Kale showed the first signs of hesistance.

"I don't know how you can move like that but I will not let you stop me." he pointed a bony finger at the still figure of Blaze lying on the ground. "He couldn't stop me and you won't either." Kale charged Clark with ferocity and a fist fight of super-powered proportions ensued. Clark was surprised at the monster's strength. It was enough to hurt him with each blow. Clark flipped Kale over him, onto his back and then turned on. He took a deep breath and began to encase Kale in ice. "What are you doing! Stop! Stop!" Kale shouted. As the ice covered Kale's entire body and began to work up his neck Kale did one last thing. Opening his bony mouth he spewed a bunch of flaming chains that began to wrap around Clark, encircling his neck slowly choking the life out of him. Clark dropped to his knees as Kale lit his body on fire to melt the ice it was encased in. "Good effort boy. But futile. Nothing can stop my vengeance."

----

Branches slapped Lois in the face, tearing at her face and clothes as she followed Lex and Lana sprinting through the forest. "Clark! Hurry up! You're falling behind!" she shouted. "What you spent too much time away from the farm to stay in good enough shape to keep up with little ol' me?" She didn't hear any snarky response from him so she stopped and turned. Clark wasn't anywhere to be seen. "HEY! You two stop!" she shouted at Lex and Lana. "Clark fell behind we have to go back and help him or that thing will kill him!"

Lex managed to choke out through pants. "Screw... Kent... Leave him..." Lois knew she should have expected that from Lex. He and Clark had not been the best of friends in a very long time. Lex started to run again. "Come on Lana."

Lana glared at him. "No Lex. I'm not coming with you. I'm going with Lois to help Clark." Lex stopped and turned.

"What! Enough of this Lana, you're coming with me." he growled. Lana didn't back down.

"I said NO Lex. All of those horrible things I did. All of it was because you changed me. You brought something horrible out of me. I hate you Lex Luthor. Stay away from me. Lets go Lois." Lois smirked at Lex and then took off into the woods with Lana. Lex stood shocked and shaking with anger. Then he ran off in pursuit of the girls.

----

Kale laughed as he circled Clark who was gasping for breath. "Looks like I win and you lose! Lets take a look into your soul before you die shall we?" Kale grapsed Clark's face and stared at him with his blazing eyes. In an instant he was knocked flat to the ground. A rush of memories had flooded both men's minds. Clark saw Noble Kale as a young man, still alive and very much in love with a beautiful woman. Clark saw how Kale had once been a hero and a good man and Clark saw Kale in his moment of despair, speaking to a being made entirely of shadow promising his soul in exchange for revenge. Kale in return saw every good deed Clark had ever done and would ever do in an instant. As he recovered Kale raised his hand and the chains around Clark's neck tightened. He was enraged with jealousy. This man was everything Kale had strived to be in life and had tried to rob him of the one thing he desired more in the world. "You're going to die now! Kal-el!" Kale cackled as Clark's vision started to blur. Suddenly a rock smacked Kale in the head.

"Let him go you bastard!" Clark heard Lois shout. 'No Lois run!' he thought. He couldn't bear it if anything happened to her. The distraction had made Kale loosen his magical grip on the chains. Oxygen started to flow into his lungs once again. Kale rounded on the women.

"Well well, looks like you've made my job easier by coming back." Lex burst into the clearing shaking with anger. "You too Lex. Good. Time to end this." Clark struggled with the chains as he felt something rip them off of him. He turned and saw the leather glad spectre of Johnny Blaze standing tall beside him.

"Sorry I was passed out before Clark. Lets stop this jackass!" Clark rose to his feet and shouted.

"Kale! You're outnumbered. Stop this insanity!" Kale was suddenly aware of the situation. He would not be able to stop them all. He knew what he had to do. "DIE LUTHOR!" Kale screamed as he sent a flaming ball directly at Lex. In an instant Lex grabbed Lana and tossed her in front of him. The fire consumed her and she collapsed to the ground.

"Lana!" Lois shouted and ran to her side. Lex took off into the woods as Clark and Blaze turned their fury on Lex. Blaze wrapped his own chain around Kale, holding him in place while Clark froze him solid. Then Blaze threw a fireball right at the frozen figure and melted it into a thousand pieces. Lois looked up as this happened, but she had been too busy with Lana to see Clark use his abilities.

"Clark she's dying! She needs to get to a hospital right away but we're in the middle of no-where!" Clark was about to act, knowing he would have to reveal his secret when Blaze stepped in. I'll take her he said as he summoned a flaming motorcycle from out of thin air. Clark thought he saw the skeletal head wink at him as he climbed on. "Well come on you two. Hop on and hold her steady. We're in for a fast ride." Lois and Clark picked up Lana and hopped on the back of the cycle, which Blaze made bigger to accommodate the extra people. Then they tore off into the night.

----

Clark and Blaze sat side by side outside of the hospital. Lois was upstairs waiting for news of Lana. The fire hadn't burned her skin at all but she was in a coma and needed to be put on life support right away. Blaze explained to Clark that the fire of a Ghost Rider burned a person's soul and not their skin.

"I have a feeling she'll be okay." Blaze smiled at Clark. His face had returned to a normal human face. With skin and without fire.

"I think I'll trust you on that one Johnny."

"If it was going to kill her she'd already be dead. She'll be fine." Blaze stood up.

"Where are you going?" Clark asked.

"Lex Luthor knows about me now. I'm gonna have to hit the road for a while if I want to live a normal life. Besides, I need to find a way to rid myself of this curse I brought on myself. Thanks for your help Clark. I hope we meet again."

"Me too Johnny. Be careful."

"I will Clark. Your secret is safe with me. If you ever encounter anything like that again come looking for me. I don't want my enemies showing up on your doorstep ever again." In a flash Blaze's head lit on fire and reverted to its grinning skull form. The flaming bike appeared again and Blaze screamed off into the horizon. Clark sat back on the bench and sighed.

'Why do I always end up dealing with the weirdest crap?' he thought with a grin. Clark stood up and headed into the hospital to check on Lois and Lana.


	8. Aftermath

**CHAPTER 7: Aftermath**

Lois sat quietly next to the hospital bed, listening to the beeping of Lana's heart. She really didn't know why she was doing it, Lana had been nothing short of evil towards her and Chloe for a long time now. But here she sat, by the bed of an old friend, out of loyalties she thought long dead. Lana coughed and slowly opened her eyes before she let out a moan. Lois bolted up to her bedside.

"Lana! You're awake! How do you feel?" she gushed. Lana looked confused and then recalled what happened.

"Lois. How did I get here? I thought I was going to die."

"Clark and I brought you to the nearest hospital. We thought it was the right thing to do."

"Why? After the way I've treated you. Both of you. Why would you do that?" Lana asked, years of being with Lex had made her paranoid of being indebted to other people.

"Lana. You and Clark used to be really close. You know him. Would he EVER turn his back on anybody completely? Well the truth is neither would I. We were good friends once and Clark loved you once. We weren't going to let you die alone in some muddy clearing." Tears started to fall silently from Lana's eyes.

"Lois. That thing. It showed me what I've become. I knew when I started dating Lex that I was losing sight of who I was but I just couldn't stop it until I had changed and I didn't know who I used to be. I'm so sorry for everything I've done. I'm so sorry for how I treated you and Chloe. Can you ever forgive me?" Lois smiled.

"Well that depends. You really think you're gonna get back together with Lex?" Lois teased. Lana smiled through her tears.

"I guess I really should have expected that huh? Not the best night for me, my boyfriend uses me as a human shield. I thought when Clark and I's break-up was the most painful one I'd ever have to go through. The truth is I haven't been in love with Lex for a long time. I won't miss him. I think its time I make up for the person I've been."

"Thats a good plan Lana." Lois smiled at her. "Well I've been deprived of caffeine for just a little bit too long so I'm going to go get some coffee from downstairs and then I'll come back up here and make sure you're okay." As Lois walked out of the door she heard Lana shout.

"Lois. Thanks."

----

Lex flagged down a pickup that was driving through the woods along a narrow two lane highway. "How'd you get way out here buddy?" The friendly truck driver inquired. Lex glared at the man. He was covered in mud, had scratches across his face from the branches and felt like his hands were burned even though they appeared to be fine.

"Take me to the nearest phone. Now. You'll be compensated for your trouble." Lex snapped.

"Geez no problem buddy." The driver returned his attention to the road. "Asshole..." he muttered under his breath.

----

Clark walked down the brightly lit hallway towards Lana's room. He was hoping to catch Lois. A lot had happened and he was in the middle of something important when the world went temporarily crazy. He looked in and saw that Lois was no-where to be found. Clark let out a deep sigh and then walked into the room. Lana turned her head to the six foot tall farm-boy who had just walked in.

"Clark. Hi." she said, unable to take her eyes off of him. She couldn't, the fire of the Rider had shown her how wrongly she had treated Clark all of those years, all the things about him that if she had taken a minute to realize would have made her never let him go. Lana was only alive because Clark Kent loved her, had been there every time someone was about to hurt her. "Clark. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for the way I've treated you all along. I never gave you a chance." She was crying. Clark didn't know where the sudden apology was coming from but he smiled.

"I just came to see if you were okay Lana. I didn't think I'd be getting a tearful apology."

"But I owe you one. Clark how many times have you saved my life? How many times were you there for me when I needed you most. Instead of loving you for all of those times I didn't trust you, I asked you how you were always there and I never understood why."

"Lana. Come on..." Clark said trying to get off the uncomfortable subject. Clark had long ago forgotten any romantic feelings for Lana. He cared about her and was saddened by her change but he had grown up and realized that you couldn't save everyone.

"No Clark. Just listen. I realized tonight the error of my ways. I'm still in love with you. Clark please give me another chance. I promise I'll never hurt you like I did ever again." Clark couldn't believe what he was hearing. He opened his mouth to respond. Neither Clark nor Lana noticed the tall brunette standing in the doorway with a cup of coffee.

----

Lex stood in the parking lot of a truck stop. The wind picked up as a helicopter descended from dark clouds. Lex smiled. 'Its good to be me.' He boarded the copter without a second thought of the people he left in the woods. He saw what the fireball did to Lana and had no doubt she was probably dead. 'Oh well. She'd been far too moody lately anyway. I hope that thing took care of Clark and Lois too. Why not do the work for me?' He felt the pull of gravity as he lifted off towards home. How Johnny Blaze became that thing was only one question the night presented. How Clark Kent had managed to arrive to the rescue in Massachusetts from Kansas in such a short span of time was another.

----

Lois stood stunned by what she was hearing. "I'm still in love with you Clark." Lana was saying inside. 'I'm going to have to rethink this friendship thing with that bitch.' Lois slowly backed out of the doorframe but sat in a chair next to it, making sure she could hear every word. Clark didn't speak for what to Lois felt like an eternity. Finally he said something. Lois hung on his every word.

"Lana. You and I have had a rollercoaster of a relationship. I'll always care about you but I can't go down that road ever again. It wouldn't be fair to me and even more importantly it wouldn't be fair to you. I can't lie to you and tell you that I still love you. I haven't loved you in a long time. The truth is Lana, I am uncontrollably in love with some one else. I don't think I'll ever love anyone else again." An enormous smile filled Lois's face. She was so happy she started to shake. 'Calm down Lane. Just calm down.'

Inside she heard more sobs from Lana. Then quietly Lana spoke. "Then I have one question for you Clark. What are you doing in here with me. Go find her and don't ever let her go." Clark smiled at Lana and bolted out of the room. Right past the person he was looking for.

"SMALLVILLE!" Lois shouted, annoyed that he had totally missed her. Clark spun round and saw the beautiful face of Lois, beaming at him. He slowly walked over and offered her his hand. She took it with a grin as Clark pulled her to her feet.

"Lets get you home Ms. Lane. Its been a long night." Lois smiled as Clark turned to leave the hospital. She leaned in closer to him as they walked. Their fingers still entwined.

As they walked out into the cold parking lot one question rose to Lois' mind. "Clark. How do you plan on getting to Metropolis from Massachusetts tonight?" Clark paused for a second, looking Lois in the face, remembering every detail. Holding her hands he took a deep breath.

"Lois. There are a lot of things about me you don't know." Lois stared deep into Clark's eyes.

"Oh come one Farmboy. You're not that mysterious." She joked in an effort to get him to smile. Normally he would have flashed his wonderful smile at her but this time he didn't instead she saw how worried and nervous he was. A little bit more quietly she placed her hand on his cheek and looked him in the eyes. "Hey. Clark its me. You can tell me anything." Clark finally cracked a bit of a smile.

"Lois I think I've fallen in love with you..." he started.

"Think or know? Come on farmboy!" Lois sighed exasperatedly. They would have to work on his communication skills. "Clark I swear..." she was about to lecture him about how he needed to be more clear if he was going to say things like that. Clark cut her off by leaning in and kissing her. The shock quickly subsided. In every dream she had about this moment she could never had expected how good it was. She felt herself melting into Clark and then kissing him back. Finally the kiss broke. Lois was speechless for the moment. Clark Kent had finally figured out how to shut her up.

"I know I love you Lois." Lois smiled hugely, which Clark returned.

"Clark I love you too! I love you so much!" She bursted as she fell into an enormous hug from Clark. "But now Smallville. I want you to tell me how I'm getting home tonight? Because we could always get a hotel room..." Lois suggested with a wink to Clark. Clark considered this for a second before picking Lois up in his arms. She yelped with pleasure at how easily he picked her up.

"Hold on Lo." he whispered in her ear. Lois gazed in his eyes and she felt like she was floating. Looking down her eyes went wide. She WAS floating. "Don't worry. I've got you." Clark said, sensing her worry. Clark held her tightly as he blasted off into the night sky, towards Metropolis.

----

Lex Luthor sat alone in front of his fireplace, a glass of Scotch in his hand. The events of the night had angered him to his breaking point. He tossed the Scotch into the fire. The flames grew huge as he expected them to but when they didn't subside Lex backed up. The fire roared in height as Lex watched a cloud of black smoke pour out in front of him. The smoke consolidated into the form of a man. Lex continued to back up till he reach a sword that was hanging on the wall. The smoke consolidated into a pale man wearing a black suit. Footstep echoed across the room as the man lumbered towards Lex. In a knee-jerk reaction Lex swung the sword right at the man's neck, severing it. A dark laughter filled the room as the man's head instantly reattached itself. Lex stared at the sword and the man in shock as the sword dissolved into dust in his hands. "What the hell are you!" Lex shouted. The voice of the man echoed all around the room, but his lips never moved. Lex was transfixed by his red eyes. "I'm a friend Lex. I've come to talk business. We seem to have a mutual enemy." The man moved his hand and chair flew across the room and slammed behind Lex, forcing him to sit.

----

Clark landed on Lois's balcony light as a feather. Lois stared at him with amazement. "Clark. How..." Clark silenced her with a quick kiss.

"Lois I want you to know everything about me. If you're really going to be in a relationship with me you need to know who I really am."

"I'm listening Clark." She smiled at her handsome farmboy. Her handsome farmboy who could fly.

"Lois I wasn't born on earth. When I was just a baby the planet that I'm from was destroyed. My father managed to send me here in a spaceship, that crash-landed during the first meteor shower in Smallville. As fate would have it I crashed right in front of my mom and dad. They took me in and raised me as one of them. Except that I'm not. I can lift a bus over my head with one finger, I can run to Florida and back from here in about five minutes, I can start fires with my eyes, I can hear a pin drop 7 miles away, I can see through things, I can freeze things with my breath and I can fly. Oh yeah and I'm sorta invulnerable. Except to the meteor rocks, Chloe and I call them Kryptonite and they can kill me."

"Wow. Clark that was a lot really fast." Clark blushed and then seemed worried. Lois quickly kissed him. "Hey. All those times you disappeared or showed up at just the right moment. You're a hero and you've never taken credit for it. Clark I fell in love with the man you are. Now I know what your secret is I think I'm more in love with you than I ever thought I could be." Lois hugged him tightly. "I'll never let you go Smallville."

"Lois I'll never let anything hurt you. I'll never stop protecting you. I'll never stop loving you." Clark kissed Lois on the top of the head and stood there holding her close, memorizing what her heart sounded like. For the first time in his life everything was perfect. Bathed in the starlight of the Metropolis skyline Clark knew he had found his soul-mate. The one promised to him on the cave wall. And he had to thank a man with a flaming skull for a head for making him realize how much he loved her. In the distance Clark thought he saw a trail of flame streaking across of rooftop. 'Thanks Johnny. I hope we meet again.' Clark thought. He felt Lois pull away from him and grab his hand.

"C'mon Smallville. I think its time we tried out some other applications of your powers." she smiled as she dragged him into her apartment and drew the shades.

_well that it for this story. THANKS SO MUCH TO EVERYONE for reading it! Yes I did set up a sequel. I think I'm gonna take a bit of a break and maybe write a short fun little fic that I've been brewing up before I get started on that one. I hope you enjoyed this one!_


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